Harness

by Viola Grace

  Light appeared, nearly invisible in the daylight, but one bolt after another struck her and ran through her. Minds so old they remembered ancient constellations that no longer marched in the sky joined with her.

  She stood where the Consuls had always stood, and one by one took generations of her own people into her mind and body. They hummed and swirled in her thoughts, learning her as she learned them.

  The exterior light was dark by the time she came back to her own body, and she stretched with a smile as she realised she could access all of the memories as she had need.

  The Elder form stood next to her. “Thank you for allowing us the link. You have honoured us by your sacrifice.”

  “Thank you for this knowledge. It will be put to good use.”

  “We were referring to the call that you put out.” The Elders inclined their head.

  “Ah. That. Well, it was only right to bring them home. There aren’t many of them, as you know.”

  The Elders were confined. They could plant a suggestion in a far-off Sukra, but it took all of them to do it. Her blast had touched everyone with their bloodlines and called them home in an instant. Now, Arxuxsa simply had to get ready for the three hundred visitors and their mates and families.

  El-sur was sitting in a chair, and he got to his feet. “Fred, are you all right?”

  She smiled and held out her hand to him. “I am, consort. I hope I did not keep you waiting long.”

  Draycon was on his knees in the doorway. “I got your summons, Consul. Welcome to your new position.”

  Fred stepped toward El-sur. “Rise, Draycon. Your loyalty is appreciated, and your body is not required. I have my chosen.”

  Draycon left the doorway.

  El-sur chuckled. “I believe you are one of the first women to have rejected him outright.”

  “I didn’t reject him, I chose you. I can only handle one man in my life, and I have decided that it is you. With a little effort, I believe I can twist you around my little finger.” She opened her bodysuit with slow motions.

  He raised his eyebrow. “You think so?”

  “I am fairly sure.” She peeled the suit down to her waist and exposed her skin; the power that was encased in her body was pulsing just under the surface.

  She cupped her breasts and stroked her hands over her skin.

  He pushed her hands aside, and the rough scrape of his palms made her groan. He eased the suit over her hips and down to the floor, lifting her out of it and setting her on the smooth, cool table. He stepped between her thighs and ran his hand down the centre of her torso, cupping her sex and teasing her with his fingertips.

  She twisted gently against him and undulated her hips until his finger slipped inside her.

  El-sur applied his lips to her breast and suckled wildly, she groaned at the spike of pleasure and pain that he caused. His teeth were already lengthening, so she knew she had to hurry to catch up.

  He slipped two fingers inside her, curling them upward and stroking slowly until he felt the different tissue on the forward wall. He focussed his attentions on plunging and pulling inside her in a rapid seesaw. When she gasped and began to shudder, he pulled her thighs apart and pressed his cock against her until it entered with a pop and they both sighed in relief.

  Long, slow thrusts soon gave way to hard slams of his hips, and she saw his teeth gleam in the light coming off her skin. His bite pulled her over the edge and into a riot of pleasure as her muscles twitched and contracted, and she moaned low and deep.

  He grunted, his teeth flexing against her neck, and his hair providing a concealing curtain, creating privacy in the open room. She felt his cock pulsing inside her, and her channel gripped him tightly, holding onto him with an ancient purpose.

  El-sur released her and licked lightly at the punctures, but her body was already healing itself. “Did you mean what you said to the Elders?”

  She blinked. “What do you mean?”

  “About devoting your line to expanding the future of the Sukra.”

  Fred smiled, “Of course. I have always wanted a family, despite my rough beginnings. I think you will be a good father.” She stroked his hair.

  “I am glad you think so. My family will be here in a few days, and they will be very eager to meet you. You might be overwhelmed.”

  “I have faced many terrifying, new things in my life, and this is just another one.” She stroked his hair again. “But, just in case, don’t go too far.”

  He laughed and slipped out of her, pulling her upright and holding her close. “I am only a thought away.”

  “I know, but this is going to get very weird, very fast. I even touched my father’s mind. There was a moment of recognition, but I didn’t get his name, and the Elders don’t want to give it to me. I am guessing it is some kind of weird-ass surprise.”

  “Don’t worry. I am going to be with you the whole way. You need only call me, and I will be at your side or the Elders will. You will not come to harm, physical or emotional.”

  He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers, and she turned her head into the caress.

  “I am counting on you, El-sur. I am not sure that I am up for all of this.” She sighed and pressed her forehead to his chest.

  “I will be at your side, Consul Fred. Every moment that you need me, I am going to be here.”

  She looped her arms around his neck and hoped that he was right.

  Chapter Ten

  “They are here, Fred.” El-sur whispered it in her ear.

  She grimaced and sat up. Her fifth month into pregnancy and she was still experiencing bouts of nausea that only depleted themselves when she napped.

  The morning round of greetings had left her exhausted and missing her lunch. Fred accepted El-sur’s help in getting dressed. She was a little tippy at the moment and any assistance was welcome.

  The clothing was easy, a long dress dropped over her head, and a floor-length vest made her look formal and visually shrunk her belly to the casual observer.

  He slipped a pair of leather slippers on her feet, but she rarely kept them on. They usually ended up discarded under her chair.

  “Come on, Fred. Time to meet them.” He offered her his arm and walked her through the temple where they now made their residence and into the audience chamber.

  He settled her in her chair. She had refused the grand carved chair found at one of the other temples, and instead, she sat on a simple stone stool with El-sur standing on her left and the Elders on her right.

  She was comfortably seated and nibbling at some dried flat bread when the doors opened and the newest Sukra arrival came in with his wife and their two sons. The wife’s face made Fred’s eyes widen.

  She rose to her feet. “Welcome to Arxuxsa. Provide your names so that you can be recorded in the rolls of the new Sukra.”

  “I am Yeren-las; this is my wife Deborah and my sons, Tomaro and Alfredo.” He was staring at her through is dark gold eyes, his deep red hair pulled back in a long tail.

  Fred jerked. “Alfredo?”

  “He was named after his eldest sibling. A sister thought lost to us.” Deborah’s words were oddly formal, but she was speaking Sukra with a Terran accent.

  “Thought lost?”

  Yeren-las nodded. “I believe we have found her, though we were not the first Sukra to do so, and we are glad to see her flourishing.”

  Fred sat back. “Alfredo, come here.”

  The youngest family member came forward and went down on one knee. “Consul, how may I be of service?”

  It was such a serious question from a boy who looked to be about ten years old.

  “Alfredo, what do you know of your missing sibling?”

  “Mother and Father tell us stories about her. She was smart, a master shifter and she loved books and reading. Mom says I get that from her because I surely don’t get it from either of them.”

  “Would you like to see the ancient library?”

  “Yes, madam. Please.”r />
  Fred nodded in dismissal. “Tomaro, please come here.”

  Tomaro was thirteen or so, more nervous than his younger brother. “Yes, Madam Consul?”

  “What are you interested in?”

  “I wish to become a master shifter and have a family all my own.” He blinked at her with earnest eyes that had a hint of his mother’s dark green gaze.

  “El-sur here is an excellent trainer. What your father cannot teach you, El-sur can.”

  He grinned and nodded, “Thank you, Madam Consul.”

  Now for the hard part. “Deborah and Yeren-las, come forward.”

  They both came forward and went down on one knee. Yeren-las kept his arm around his wife. The Terran was shaking.

  “For years, I have wondered where I got my human form. It is good to see that genetic memory or, perhaps, actual infant memory counts for something.” She turned into her human form for a moment, listening to the gasp from her brothers and watching tears come to her mother’s eyes as she saw her own features.

  She reverted quickly to her Sukra shape. Shifting was another thing that made her dizzy. “My Sukra shape takes after my father’s side, and for most of my life, I have believed that he was a predator of the worst sort. It was a heavy burden to think I came into the world via violence.”

  Deborah had tears tracking down her cheeks. “I didn’t know what he was, what had happened. I reported it and didn’t find out for two days what my boyfriend actually was. Once I accepted it, it was too late. I was pregnant and the file was in place. No one was going to find the man with skin like pearl and hair like blood.”

  Fred asked him, “Was it easy to give up your child?”

  Yeren-las swallowed, and it was Deborah’s turn to support him. “It was the hardest thing I have ever done. I watched over you for years, but I had to leave when the Alliance began to close your star system. Deborah and I took our sons and left you behind. There is nothing I have ever regretted as much as I have obeying the voices that told me what to do.”

  “I will let you know that it was necessary. I needed to come here with the knowledge of three hundred shapes and the mind control of a child. There was only one way to have that happen, so that is what was done. I am coming to grips with it, and I will have you know your family is welcome here. Your home has been prepared.”

  El-sur helped her to her feet and held her when she swayed.

  “Enjoy your new home and ask my immigration secretary if you need anything.”

  Deborah blinked. “You are pregnant.”

  “Yup.”

  Deborah laughed. “I was sick as a dog with you. It took me until the seventh month before my stomach settled. The only thing that worked was having Yeren-las—Anthony back then—rub my feet. I don’t know why it worked, but it did.”

  El-sur grinned, “I have rubbed every other part of her to no effect. She is highly ticklish though.”

  Yeren-las helped his wife to her feet. “Just persist. The sensitivity fades.”

  Fred reached out and hugged her mother and then her father. His mind touched hers for a moment, and she smiled. “Just as good, huh? I will send the report to the Nyal Imperium. They can put a bid in for the second wave of Terrans.”

  Deborah blinked and the boys figured out what was going on. Alfredo came forward again, “You are our sister?”

  Tomaro didn’t hesitate, he hugged her, and Alfredo was right behind.

  “Don’t squeeze too tight boys, contents under pressure, don’t you know.”

  They began chattering at her, and she tried to answer their questions, but after a few moments, the Elders stepped forward. “She needs to rest. She has not been well today.”

  El-sur spoke quickly with Yeren-las, and a few minutes later, Fred was in her office and El-sure was rubbing her feet.

  “This is probably why I can’t keep shoes on you. Your body is calmed by the pressure.”

  She sighed happily. “Shut up and keep rubbing.”

  * * * *

  Five months, forty family dinners with her parents and brothers, five gatherings with both sides of the family, and one hundred and eighty-three Sukra on Arxuxsa later, the next baby girl came into the world with dark gold eyes and a shock of deep green hair.

  Neeva-sur was full term and her mind grabbed at Fred’s the moment she was no longer physically connected to her mother.

  “She has a very strong mental grip.” Fred smiled at her daughter while she worked at binding the incoming census.

  Deborah was holding her granddaughter and rocking her back and forth. “You did as well. Yeren-las had to break the bond between us, and it almost killed me.”

  “Who gave me the book?”

  “That was Yeren-las’s idea. The book was mine.”

  Fred wiped her hands and got up, opening the hidden door to expose her private library. “I have rebound it a few times, but here it is.”

  Bound in leather, studded in gems, the plain book of English poetry.

  “I had always thought that the nun gave it to me, but I went over what the records said, and it said that she had a book in the bassinet and so Sister Hecuba named her Alfreda after Saint Alfred. It had not occurred to me that it might be a gift from my parents.”

  “You kept it all these years?”

  “It was a touchstone to the first record of me in this world. I am guessing that I was a home birth?”

  “Oh yeah. I am amazed that Yeren-las still wanted to touch me after that, but he brought you into the world without so much as a whimper.”

  “And obviously, it didn’t freak him out too much.” Fred chuckled and watched her mother run a hand over the bound volume.

  “It did for a while, but the loss that we suffered bound us together in a way that neither of us had anticipated.”

  “Why were you a minor when the report was made?”

  “It was the day before my eighteenth birthday. We anticipated the legality.” Deborah made a face.

  “It had to be that way or I would have found you.”

  “I wish you had.” Deborah’s face showed her regret.

  Fred changed the topic. “So, do you want more little ones?”

  “Of course. Yeren-las is hoping for another daughter. He was delighted beyond all bearing when he saw you. The first girl in generations.”

  “And now, the second is having a nap in your arms and trying to consume her fist using slobber.” Fred checked in on Neeva-sur. The baby was clean, fed and having a nice nap.

  Fred returned to the book she was working on and continued the binding process.

  Deborah asked, “How did you learn to do that?”

  Fred smiled, “It was the first touch of the Elders. They taught me this skill to keep my mind from going crazy when my body was out of my control. You can always put the pages together and bind them. I was like a broken book. The whole story was there but the pages needed to be put in their proper order. Now that it is, I can tell the story without hesitation.”

  She wiped her hands and took the baby back. “New book for you little Neeva-sur. A journal will be made of everything you say and do. When you can write, you can make your own story. We will be there helping you every step of the way.”

  The baby opened her dark gold eyes, and she blinked slowly before returning to her fist-sucking sleep.

  “That is a beautiful sentiment.”

  “I am glad you think so. I have a journal for you as well.” With her baby in one arm, she reached out and pulled out a massive journal. “I am missing a few years of your life; I would like to learn about them if you will share them with me.”

  Deborah smiled and clutched the huge tome. “I will be delighted to start with the night I met your father.”

  “Thank you. It will help finish the start of my story. So far, I only have the middle.” Fred sat back and rocked her baby slowly with her mother sitting down at the table and opening to start the journal.

  It took one year to finish the story of the Yeren-las and De
borah union. Their three children and their place in their life were all described in detail.

  When Fred finished reading, the family had just landed on Arxuxsa and they were on their way to meet with the Consul. She closed the book and smiled at El-sur. “And they lived happily ever after.”

  “Did they?”

  “Well, they are doing their best. It is all we can do. We are all working toward our happily ever after, and I want all the ever after I can get.” She laughed, and Neeva-sur echoed her laughter, throwing noodles at her father.

  El-sur smiled and wiped up the damage, getting another handful of noodles on his head for his trouble.

  “Yeah, this is my happily ever after, and little Neeva-sur…that is going in the book.”

  Author’s Note

  Harness was a means to an end. She starts out bound physically and then finds that her emotional ties are what is really holding her back.

  Honour will take us into the life of a stolen Terran, where keeping her word is the only thing keeping her enslaved. Is honour more important than freedom, or can both be found with enough patience?

  Thanks for reading,

  Viola Grace

  viola@violagrace.com

  http://www.violagrace.com

  About the Author

  Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there. She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. Her line of day job tends to be analytical which leaves her mind hopping to weave stories. No co-worker is safe from her character analysis. In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included cross-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales.